Children have a natural love for learning and minds like sponges. At NGA, we encourage home school parents to narrow their teaching focus to Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic for elementary school students. Once a student has acquired strong reading, writing, and mathematical skills, transitioning into a more rigorous middle school curriculum is less stressful. Middle school students are able to work independently for longer periods of time with greater success. Our sixth through eighth grade English classes meet once per week for an extended block period. The extended session allots more time for literary discussion including academic dialogue, presentation, and debate. Students learn vocabulary, reading fluency, and comprehension using McGuffey Original Eclectic Readers by Mott Publishing and a pre-selected reading list of novels and original works of literature. The Christian Light Grammar curriculum packets introduces grammar concepts students apply in their writing. Students build a grammar and writing binder as concepts are mastered. Besides their McGuffey readers and grammar packets, students also have a writing curriculum to ensure the mechanics of writing are mastered in a systematic progression. Sixth through eighth graders use the All Write curriculum housed under the same publisher the elementary and high school students use. This helps to ensure writing continuity for the students, families, and teachers.

The literary and historical focus this year is American literature and American history. As an added bonus, NGA middle and high school students have an opportunity to participate in speech competitions and join a competitive speech and debate club. This year's topics associated with American history and American works of literature will be strategically chosen, so, when possible, NGA English classes might incorporate them as assignments or points of discussion.

To prepare our children for an increasingly technology-driven world, NGA math classes meet twice per week. We teach our middle and high school students the methodologies of the “Flipped classroom model using the Saxon mathematics curriculum. In a “flipped classroom, students view pre-lectured concepts online prior to attending class. Face-to-face classroom time is used to re-lecture difficult concepts, ask meaningful questions, model “I do, we do, you do techniques, and to promote peer collaboration. The Saxon curriculum uses a spiraling technique to keep concepts fresh. For example, students learning lesson 78 will have homework problems from lesson 78 in addition to homework problems from any of the previously covered lessons 1-77. Students also track their individual levels of mastery and identify gaps using our customized grading sheets. Middle school students typically enroll in one of the following Saxon math classes: Saxon 65,76,87, or Alg 1.

Reading:

Math:

Science:

Our middle school students have an opportunity to participate in physical sciences and biological sciences with labs. Each year an age-appropriate version of our high school science is introduced throughout our science course offerings. For example, during the 2015-2016 school year, our middle school students were introduced to higher-level Chemistry concepts such as the periodic table, elements, molecules, and they learned challenging concepts taught in Physics. They participated in hands-on projects and labs involving the scientific method. Each year a different science discipline is introduced on a rotating schedule. The schedule includes, but is not limited to, Environmental Science, Physical Science, Biology, Anatomy, and Chemistry. These courses are intended to prepare our middle school students for the rigorous study of these subjects at the high school level. This year our middle school science students will be introduced to Environmental Science through exploring nature. Our curriculum is The Nature Connection: An Outdoor Workbook for Kids, Families, and Classrooms. “Ever since Richard Louv diagnosed nature-deficit disorder in his classic book Last Child in the Woods, parents and teachers have been looking for more ways to connect children with the outdoors. During the 2016-2017 school year, our NGA science team seeks to do its part in helping to accomplish this goal through exploration, interactive projects, and hands-on activities.

Eighth grade middle school students, who have demonstrated strong reading, writing, and arithmetic ability, are encouraged to begin acquiring high school science credits beginning with Physical Science. Each year the NGA high school science rotation includes a science discipline that requires a prerequisite and one that does not. For example, last year's science course offering included Biology (non-prerequisite course) and Chemistry (Algebra 1 prerequisite course). This year's science rotation includes Physical Science (non-prerequisite course) and Anatomy (Biology prerequisite course). It will also include a high school level environmental science that offers an additional opportunity to partner with local naturalists and environmental experts to complete service projects and attend research-based events (non-prerequisite course),

Similar to our science program, our history program is determined by our rotating high school history course offerings. All students study the same historical period as the high school students. A rotating history cycle takes 4 years to complete. It begins with Creation and covers key periods of history from ancient world history through the modern day events in America. This year our focus will be American history and the upcoming election. At NGA, we believe history is best understood as an evolving chronological story of many's interactions with God and his fellow human beings. The character lessons of history are emphasized and the consequences and/or impact of man's choices are explored. Age appropriate concepts and projects are introduced to our high school students and taught from a biblical worldview perspective. Our history class meets once per week. This year, the high school history classes are planning a two-week field trip with the goal of visiting the 13 original colonies and bringing American history to life. A tentative date for this trip is the first week of October. We will also hold a project-based mock election to explore our election process. This trip requires benchmark fundraising goals and will be open to upper level, well-behaved, middle school students who are in good academic standing and have met all the requirements set forth by the history team.This year's history curriculum-TBD.

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Similar to our science program, our history program is determined by our rotating high school history course offerings. A rotating history cycle takes 4 years to complete. It begins with Creation and covers key periods of history from ancient world history through the modern day events in America. This year our focus will be American history and the upcoming election. At NGA, we believe history is best understood as an evolving chronological story of man's interactions with God and his fellow human beings. The character lessons of history are emphasized and the consequences and/or impact of man's choices are explored. Age appropriate concepts and projects are introduced to our high school students and taught from a biblical worldview perspective. Our history class meets once per week. This year, the high school history classes are planning a two-week field trip with the goal of visiting the 13 original colonies and bringing American history to life. A tentative date for this trip is the first week of October. We will also hold a project-based mock election to explore our election process. This trip requires benchmark fundraising goals and will be open to upper level, well-behaved, middle school students who are in good academic standing and have met all the requirements set forth by the history team.This year's history curriculum-TBD.

NGA is blessed with several highly qualified Spanish teachers that are certified and/or native speakers. Foreign language is very difficult to teach without a fluent teacher. The typical American education allots 2 or 3 years for foreign language studies and rarely produces bilingual students. To encourage fluency, we offer Spanish to our students as early as first grade through twelfth grade. Our middle and high school Spanish classes are divided into two levels, Spanish 1 and Spanish 2. High school students who demonstrate proficiency and meet the requirements outlined in our Spanish assessment, are allowed to matriculate into either of these classes. Our curriculum emphasizes reading, writing, and speaking Spanish and also includes Spanish fieldtrips to encourage local immersion. The Spanish team is planning a mission trip to a Spanish speaking country to provide further immersion opportunities and to possibly serve as a capstone project for our high school seniors. This trip requires benchmark fundraising goals and will be open to upper level, well-behaved, middle school students who are in good academic standing and have met all the requirements set forth by the Spanish team. A tentative date for this trip is the first week of May. This year's Spanish curriculum- TBD.